Packaging for light strings (e.g., Christmas tree lights) from a manufacturer is generally not reusable. Often the packaging is made of plastic and is originally loaded by machine by the manufacturer in a manner that cannot be duplicated by a user when it becomes time to put the lights away at an end of a holiday season. Consequently, the user often coils the light string after use and puts the coil into a bag for use the following year.
When it becomes time to use the lights the following year, into the user often finds that the coil has become tangled and the user experiences great difficulty in uncoiling the lights. Often a great deal of time is spent uncoiling the lights. Light bulbs are often dislodged from sockets or become broken in frustration during the uncoiling process.
Prior teachings have included the use of a hollow cylinder with a number of holes around the periphery of the cylinder for insertion of the lights of the light string. A slot is provided on one end to secure a plug on the end of the string of lights.
Other apparatus provided in the prior art includes a flat rectangular frame with a number of notches along two opposing outer edges. A second set of notches is provided along an inner circumference of the frame for securing the plugs.
In other unrelated arts, cord holders have been provided where a cord is stored inside a first hollow cylinder. Dust caps are provided at each end to keep out dirt. A second cylinder with slots on each end is provided around which to wind the cord before insertion of the second cylinder inside the first hollow cylinder and attachment of the dust caps.
While the prior art has provided a number of devices for holding cords which may reduce a user's frustration, the devices provided are generally not adaptable for light strings or easily adapted for use in automated manufacturing processes. Accordingly, a need exists for a holder for light strings that may be cheaply and easily adapted to a manufacturer's packaging equipment, yet remains simple enough for a user to reuse at an end of a season for convenient and easy light storage.